Closed sales of previously owned homes rose 1.3% in July compared with June to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 3.95 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Sales were 2.5% lower compared with the same time last year.
“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, in a release.
All-cash offers made up 27% of July sales, up from 26% the year before and far higher than the historical norm.
At the current sales pace, that represents a four-month supply, slightly lower than it was in June.
First-time buyers made up 29% of sales in July, unchanged from June but down from 30% in July 2023.
A separate report from Redfin, a real estate brokerage, found requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents rose 4% over the last week to their highest level in two months.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated a time frame for the decline in home sales.
With a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 3.95 million units, closed sales of previously owned homes increased by 1.3 percent in July over June, as reported by the National Association of Realtors. After five months, that was the first gain.
Sales for the same period last year were 2.5 percent lower.
Northeast sales increased the most, while Midwest sales remained unchanged. The Northeast saw the biggest price increases as well.
The chief economist at the NAR, Lawrence Yun, stated in a release that “home sales are still sluggish despite the modest gain.”. However, buyers now have more options, and because interest rates are falling, prices are becoming more reasonable. “.”.
These sales are predicated on contracts that were most likely signed in May and June, back when the popular 30-year fixed loan had mortgage rates significantly higher than 7%. After beginning to decline in July, rates are currently averaging 6.5 percent.
July sales accounted for 27% of all-cash offers, which is significantly more than the historical average and up from 26% the previous year.
In July, the number of available houses kept rising. There were 1 point 33 million homes available at the end of the month, up 0.8 percent from June and 19.8 percent from July 2023 figures. Slightly less than in June, that amounts to a four-month supply at the current sales pace.
Nevertheless, the increase in supply had no effect on bringing down the price of homes. In July, the average price of a previously owned home that was sold was $442,600, representing a 4.2 percent annual growth.
In July 2023, the percentage of sales made by first-time buyers was 29%, which was not different from June but lower than July 2023’s 30%. In the past, these purchasers account for almost 40% of all home sales, but the last two years have seen a sharp decline in affordability as a result of rapidly rising home prices and increased mortgage rates.
Now that rates have slightly decreased, demand is beginning to increase. In an unrelated report, the real estate brokerage Redfin revealed that requests for tours and other purchasing services from its agents increased by 4% in the past week, reaching their highest point in the previous two months.
Revision: An earlier draft of this article erroneously stated how long the drop in house sales lasted.
